Syncope
by Kyanobenthes
Summary: Months after the HiME festival was resolved, the cast return to their lives and attempt to move on. Natsuki must adapt to a renewed future, and Shizuru must deal with a veiled past.    Part 1: character interaction studies
1. Part 1, Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1.1

Her slender fingers absentmindedly wandered to the back of her neck, lightly pressing against the faint itch of a mosquito bite tucked just under her hairline. It was an unintended souvenir from an otherwise wonderful rural park visit last week with her younger, dark-haired friend. She had a photo from that trip laminated into a bookmark, which, due to the easily misinterpreted posture and blush, her friend insisted that she show no one at any time, under any circumstance. This small memory made Shizuru smile in the faint, cool gray glow that spilled from the nearby window onto the massive wooden table she had appropriated.

After taking notes from the necessary books and loaned materials for Natsuki's sake, Shizuru stretched and stood up, piling everything neatly together for the library attendees to take away. They did this with astounding speed, as though they had been hovering by the stacks around Shizuru's table for just this opportunity. Though forced into the human contact, she smiled and thanked them for their services, then quickly exited the building.

It was cloudy out. Shizuru had hoped to enjoy an ephemeral slice of sunset before the predicted clouds settled on her way back to Natsuki's apartment, but her meetings with the present and former student council members before the library visit sucked away more time and energy than she thought. Still, she was surprisingly awake and sharp while in the library, for when it came to helping Natsuki, Shizuru found she could always find that extra bit of strength.

She opened her cell phone and punched a few buttons. "Natsuki? Yes, I am on my way back now. Sorry that I am late. Would you like me to pick something up for dinner? … Oh, all right." A smile rolled across her face. "I look forward to trying your cooking again. We should thank Mai-san sometime for dealing with you. She seems like a superhero." Laughter danced lightly across the sidewalk. "…Yes, I will see you shortly."

The cell phone snapped smartly shut, but before Shizuru could slip it back into her bag, a dull pain thrust itself between, behind her eyes and a wave of nauseating, white dizziness swept down from crown to gut, threatening to crush her with a blackout. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs and throat.

_It is just a bit of fatigue; nothing a full night of sleep will not cure_. Shizuru frowned to herself. She swallowed and allowed herself to fumble the phone, dropping it onto the nearby grass. Pretending to pick it up and inspect it as she kneeled for a few moments, Shizuru squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead to regain her bearings.

"Kaichou-s–er, I mean, Fujino-sama?" A timid voice from behind caught her attention and forced her to quickly blink away the white spots in her vision. She stood up gracefully but slowly with cell phone in hand and turned to an old fan from the Fuuka Academy.

"Yes?" A pleasant smile appeared on her lips.

A girl who looked sixteen spied the cell phone with bits of grass on it. "Oh! I'm sorry. I thought you were ill, but I guess you just dropped that. Ah, never mi–er, I mean, please have a pleasant evening." She shifted a little nervously and waved.

"Ah, thank you very much for your concern, and good evening as well." Shizuru nodded warmly. This simple act brightened the girl's demeanor, and with a little nod, she scampered off to her destination. Shizuru sighed and wiped off her cell phone. Fortunately, the pain had passed quickly.

By the time she returned to the apartment, Natsuki had already set out everything on the dining table and was waiting, peering out the window impatiently.

"Hey–"

"Ah, I am back." Shizuru grinned impishly and raised her hand, knowing full well that Natsuki would ask in that habitual akimbo pose why she was late by a whole hour. "Two of the meetings went overtime, and the research took a little longer than expected." She took out her notebook on cue and presented it to Natsuki, whose mouth was slightly agape from being interrupted so smoothly.

Natsuki eyed the glossy blue notebook in her hands and then flipped it open. She merely stared blankly for a moment before recognition fired in her eyes. "Wh-what! These are–"

"Extra notes for your literature and language classes. I know that you are better at history and math but have no interest in anything remotely artistic, yes? These are merely analytical hints and notes, but you must still do your reading." Shizuru winked at Natsuki's wide stare. "What now, you do not need these?"

She counted on being treated to any number of Natsuki's standard responses—scoffing in indignation, pouting with her slightly puffed cheeks, blushing and frowning, looking away, even brooding. But Shizuru was not so lucky today.

"Aren't you tired today from all those meetings? You shouldn't push yourself so hard, Shizuru…" Natsuki trailed off with a concerned yet suspicious look in her eye as she peered up at the taller girl. She then remained unusually silent while studying Shizuru up and down.

Shizuru merely blinked and smiled, tilting her head slightly as if to say, "Whatever do you mean? If it is for Natsuki…"

Natsuki added hurriedly, "It's not like I _need_ all those extra notes, either. We're just doing this to accumulate time since that was the agreement, remember? You really shouldn't work so hard already."

Slightly disheartened by the lack of expected display, Shizuru chose to glide over to the table rather than respond. "Oh, my. It seems all that work has paid off. Perhaps for dessert…" She glanced back at Natsuki with a terribly mischievous glint in her eyes.

That did it. Natsuki's cheeks instantly puffed and burned pink; she stomped to the table, forgetting the notebook on the couch where she had just hurriedly tossed it. Natsuki tersely cleared her throat to direct Shizuru's attention away from her and towards the kitchen.

"H-hey. Don't get ahead of yourself. Anyway, have a seat. Fortunately, this is still hot." Natsuki made her way to the small oven and pulled out a square pan of what looked like a cheese-topped casserole. Shizuru raised her brow slightly when she caught a glimpse of a small pie just before her underclassman closed the oven door. "Um, I know you prefer Japanese foods, but I asked Mai for directions to make this lighter so it shouldn't be too heavy, and there's salad and rice."

Shizuru instinctively looked towards the water pot.

"—And tea!" Natsuki grumbled slightly as she brought out a cast-iron tea kettle and placed it on a trivet over a light blue candle that immediately caught the older girl's eye.

"Oh!" Shizuru clasped her hands to her face. "How romantic. There is a candle and even a special tea pot for the occasion. Hmm… Just what is the occasion, Natsuki?" Her teasing expression turned to one of genuine curiosity.

It was not often Natsuki cooked, but she had been taking lessons from Mai, who seemed to enjoy taking advantage of that large kitchen and rare oven. Mai had the wisdom to demand that foods be "palatable first, presentable second." After a few mishaps that earned the younger girl some good-natured ribbing from Shizuru, she slowly improved by trying only simple things. This something-casserole was the most complicated thing she had yet attempted.

Natsuki happened to enjoy rich foods, but the heavily fried material was usually a bit much for Shizuru. Still, the older girl learned to stretch her palate a little, if only for Natsuki's sake, and Natsuki learned to refine her tastes in turn, if only with a little painfully cute pouting.

"Actually…" the younger girl seated herself and leaned forward on her elbows, "I, uh, wanted to thank you for tutoring me, and since it's Friday, I wanted to do something, eh… special." Shizuru also rested her elbows on the table, cradling her chin on her hands, smiling fondly at the raven-haired girl who grew pinker by the second under that impossibly intense gaze.

"S-stop it! If you don't stop teasing me, you won't get any food!"

"My, my…"

"Eat the casserole already," Natsuki scowled slightly, then leaned over ungracefully to snatch up her friend's cup and fill it with fresh tea. Shizuru merely offered a contented smile.

Through the dinner and their light conversation, the light brunette couldn't help but be impressed. Although casseroles were technically easy to cook, she appreciated Natsuki's effort and did enjoy the lightly spiced chicken and broccoli with only a dusting of parmesan cheese. Nor was the display overly burnt and otherwise maimed. It was a shame the younger girl had little interest in healthier Japanese cuisine, but at least Shizuru managed to add some other basics like rice, miso soup, various fresh noodles, and sushi to Natsuki's personal menu. _Yes, she is still improving,_ Shizuru thought.

She gently placed her fork down and wiped her mouth, watching Natsuki dip a piece of chicken in her mayonnaise with great care, the tip of her pink tongue just peeking out between those glistening, tender lips, her emerald eyes alight with anticipation.

"Natsuki, this was excellent. I am so very proud of you." Those wine-red eyes burned, causing Natsuki to grin and even blush a little. Her own brilliant eyes darted up to meet the smile.

"I'm glad."

"If you are finished, we can take a short break before resuming studies."

"Ah! Not yet; there's something else." Natsuki finished off her last piece of broccoli and scurried to the kitchen, navy-black hair flapping. Shizuru could hear something metallic clanging about before Natsuki reappeared with a small pie and a big grin. After placing it on the table, however, her grin turned quite sheepish.

"Actually, Mai made this, but…"

Shizuru only laughed.

Natsuki lazed on the floor by the couch and surfed on her own laptop for a while before cracking open her books. Although it was the short spring break before the new school year started, both girls had full schedules on a daily basis, except for the day trip they made the first weekend of break. The brunette had student council and business meetings every morning "to tie up loose ends" and spent the rest of the afternoons and evenings tutoring Natsuki. Due to said student's lackluster attendance record, the beloved former student council president managed to form a deal with the principal and new school director to allow Natsuki to pass into the second year, provided she have formal tutoring to make up missing time and then took a general exam at the end of the break. Even despite always being busy, Shizuru still managed to prepare ahead for her own Fuuka university classes, which had not begun yet, while Natsuki studied at night. The moody girl usually grumbled at her friend for being "too damn efficient."

Gliding about the apartment as though on silent wheels, Shizuru tidied up and adroitly avoided Natsuki's annoyed glances. Not having been trained in the finer details of housework, the younger girl had developed some very bad habits like leaving dishes and cutlery in the sink until mold grew. She then grumpily allowed her sempai to teach her some organizational skills in which the former student council president was an expert.

Despite Natsuki's grumbling, they had developed some routines together. Shizuru would wash the dishes, and Natsuki would dry them; Shizuru would tidy up objects and return items to their places while Natsuki wiped surfaces down. It was not common knowledge, but Shizuru could cook, albeit not as efficiently as Mai without substantial preparation. Natsuki assumed not many people knew since most everyone who ever met Shizuru wanted to take her out to a fancy restaurant or some such nonsense. When Shizuru cooked, Natsuki cleared the table.

An awkward realization prodded the base of Natsuki's skull as she mentally tabulated their shared activities. _Actually, what else do I do?_ She stopped typing on the laptop to lean back against the couch and stare at the ceiling. _What am I doing?_ An uncomfortably tight ball of guilt settled on top of her stomach. _At this rate, it's as if I hired Shizuru to be my tutor and maid… and I'm not even paying her! What do we talk about anymore?_

Shizuru watched and wondered. In a given context, it was often quite easy to read Natsuki, whose basic social ineptitude left awkward openings to her inner self if she failed to guard herself. Most people would miss these openings, but not the former student president. Natsuki did have imposing defenses as well as violent reactions should anyone nearly slip by a barrier, but since Shizuru had become close to her over the years, the dark beauty softened her edges and even sometimes lowered her guard. Then, since the HiME festival, Natsuki's inner warmth had begun to glow through that ice even more as she slowly expanded her small circle of friends.

But at this moment, Shizuru could not fathom what sorts of roiling and possibly embarrassing thoughts were battling in her younger friend's mind. Curiosity got the best of her, and she crept in front of Natsuki to peer down at the upside-down laptop screen. Green eyes were suddenly staring up into her face.

"Wah!" Startled out of her contemplation, Natsuki yelped and slid down until the back of her head rested on the couch, pushing against Shizuru's lower legs with her knees. Shizuru's hands, which had been behind her back, shot out to balance herself on the couch's seat. Ruddy crimson blinked down and brilliant green blinked up.

"Such an interesting expression you had on your face, Natsuki. I did not mean to startle you. Perhaps something you saw on the internet…?" An easy smirk quickly appeared in response to Natsuki's gawking.

"I was just–! …th-thinking. It's nothing… important." Those words were true in the sense that she couldn't remember what she was thinking about. _She smells like lavender._

"Certainly. I apologise for interrupting."

"Ah, it's nothing…"

Breathing was the only movement. Shizuru's light brown tresses framed and tickled the borders of Natsuki's fair face. The younger girl's eyes were wide open and her expression tense and uncertain.

_Open_, Shizuru mused, _so very open and innocent, almost as if she is waiting for something to happen. Are you, Natsuki? Are you…? _She halted the sadness that pooled behind her own eyes.

Natsuki hardly noticed the heat flooding through her body. Her eyelids were frozen as well as most of the air in her throat, which had been stoppered by a small lump. She could feel the warm breath cascading gently over her face and saw from the corner of her eye the slow, steady motion of the young woman's full breasts cupped in what Natsuki knew was an expensive bra underneath that crisp, white blouse.

She resisted the urge to wave away those light hairs tickling her face, entranced as she was by the irises of abyssal wine calmly staring back. Unable to focus on either of them, she settled on the space between Shizuru's eyebrows. Closing her slightly parted lips to swallow the lump in her throat, Natsuki then allowed them to part again into a slight frown. Her mood, originally frozen by surprise, was tottering back towards a dismayed disapproval.

This miniscule motion widened Shizuru's small smile, squeezing up her cheeks and eyes in a genuine expression of enjoyment. She pushed herself up from that odd, tent-like posture and sat on the couch, smoothing Natsuki's dark hair around her ear. The younger girl blinked at the warmth of her hand.

"Thank you for the wonderful dinner, Natsuki," she whispered. With a very happy expression, the brunette stood and walked to the kitchen to resume her tidying.

Natsuki remembered to breathe, pressing her palm to her chest.

========================================NOTES:

This is a teaser chapter; I am only posting two chapters to FFnet. I started writing "Syncope" in 2006 and am up to 11+2 chapters and over 57k words at the time of this posting. Originally, "Syncope" lived on Livejournal, and I only advertised on the ShoujoAi forum. Now, the rest of this story is being published on my website, kyanobenthes-dot-com (see profile). Table of contents (chapters and info): kyanobenthes-dot-com/2009/sticky-syncope/

I set up my fic website in a very specific way—separate post pages for the chapters and the author notes, with links connecting both. This is because I do substantial research whenever possible, so the notes can get quite long and rambly; keeping the notes and chapters separate allows readers to read straight through the chapters without any interruption. Also, I allow comments only on the author notes pages instead of chapters, which prevents inadvertent spoiling if you want to just read straight through.

Because FFnet doesn't allow my preferred setup, I am only posting the first two chapters and encourage anyone who is interested to visit my site and leave critiques under the author notes. I will still read comments here, but I prefer keeping these sorts of things centralized (you can see from my existing author note posts that there are already some substantial reviews). Thanks.


	2. Part 1, Chapter 2

CHAPTER 1.2

A very annoying man grunted energetically into Natsuki's ear, trying to prick the girl's interest in the weather and local events. Hissing irritably, she reached over with outstretched palm and smacked him hard on the top of his flat skull, effectively silencing him.

"Stupid radio alarm."

Rolling onto her back and unintentionally twining her already horribly twisted bed sheet around her legs, Natsuki arched and forcibly stretched, releasing a squeaky grunt in the process. Suddenly, she noticed the sound of frying in the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes and tumbled off the bed, grumbling while extracting herself from the net of twisted sheet.

Both the aroma of food and sound of cooking increased dramatically when she opened her door. Plodding to the kitchen, she released her habitual warning growl of sorts.

"Nnnh…."

"Good morning, Natsuki," came a very cheerful reply. "The miso and eggs are ready as well as your toast. The jam is also out on the table."

"…Nngh…"

The pleasant smell of fresh food was as thick as Shizuru's warm Kyoto accent. The disheveled Natsuki pondered sleepily how that was possible when the food was actually quite simple. The curiosity of how Shizuru always had impeccable breakfast timing only managed to form halfway before Natsuki yawned it off.

"Natsuki?" Shizuru turned to peer at her younger friend who was still grumbling. After a moment, Natsuki stopped and realized Shizuru was staring with an obviously muted smile—a stare that lengthened and caused Natsuki to narrow her clouded, green eyes in suspicion. She rubbed her face while her eyes darted anywhere where a source of amusement might hide. After removing the small frying pan from the stove, Shizuru finally grinned and pointed to Natsuki's other hand.

"Again, pillows should not be fed."

Natsuki looked down and realized she was clutching her oversized pillow much as a lost child would. Blushing, she stomped back to her room to hurl the thing onto her bed and grabbed her robe along the way.

Shizuru's rich laughter pursued all the while.

Since Shizuru had asked her to refrain from consuming mayonnaise for at least one meal a day, Natsuki had finally gotten used to foregoing the stuff on her egg for breakfast. The decision to sacrifice this meal, however, came about when the former student president publicly begged and hugged Natsuki from behind, forcing an embarrassed acquiescence. Shizuru later commented that she should have bargained for two meals, which earned her only a deadly glare.

After throwing open the curtains to allow the cool, morning sun to filter in, Shizuru seated herself opposite Natsuki's bowl of miso and plate of toast and fried egg and meticulously placed her own bowls of miso and rice beside a small plate of fried egg. Though the setup might have been missing a few customary items like _tsukemono_, the older girl was hardly one to eschew simplicity. She merely responded to such situations with increased elegance. Natsuki poked at the perfectly centered yolk of the perfectly fried and circular egg.

_[click]_

"I'd ask how you did this, but it seems… unnatural."

"Nonsense," Shizuru winked. "You are to meet Mai-san today, correct? My meeting should end at 13:00, in time for a snack at our ice cream shoppe. Would you prefer to wait for me outside the building, or will I find you at her apartment?"

"I still don't understand why you have all these student council meetings when a bunch of you are graduated now. Just what sort of loose ends are there to tie up that the new council can't manage?" Natsuki washed down her jam-laden toast with milk. Shizuru didn't answer, calmly closing her eyes and sipping green tea to settle the meal. Natsuki gave a sidelong glance at her face and deftly noted that her face was a little pale. She sighed.

"I'll wait at the main building. By the way… did you sleep well enough last night?"

_After surfing for a while and helping Shizuru with the dishes, both wandered to the living space to settle down for a quietly productive night. The older girl stacked two large pillows on one end of the sofa and curled up with a book while Natsuki settled down to study at the low table, her back to the sofa's seat. She had discovered that having Shizuru in the room, even if inattentive, helped her concentration a bit in that unfamiliar and uncomfortable silence. Of course, this was far more useful when Natsuki was struggling through literature or language material out of sheer boredom. An hour passed without incident, the light shuffling of paper or shifting of clothing the only indoor sounds._

_"Hey, Shizuru, what do you think about—" Natsuki turned her head back towards the couch, expecting to see two burgundy eyes attentively on her, but immediately stopped her inquiry._

_"Restful" would not adequately describe the truly tranquil expression on Shizuru's face. Her eyelids quivered slightly, suggesting a deep sleep, and her body appeared completely lax and almost sunken into the soft couch except her upper torso, which was supported by two fluffy pillows. Her fingers were limp around the cover of her book, which was splayed on her chest in an uneven V-shape. The nearby lamp haloed her sandy head with a warm, yellow incandescence._

_'…She must have been really tired,' Natsuki noted the slight pallor of her friend's lips and face. She pulled a zabuton to the end of the couch and knelt, considering what to do. Wincing inwardly, she gingerly lifted a wrist and gently set the hand lower on Shizuru's stomach; she did the same with the other hand and placed the book aside. The dark-haired girl then knelt on the zabuton for a little while, watching her friend's chest slowly rise and fall, and considered what to do. She finally sighed._

_'It's pretty early. If she sleeps now, her schedule will be all off. Miss Always-Just-On-Time… Guess I'll wake her up for now…' She gently shook the girl's shoulder, but Shizuru did not stir. She tried again with a little more force._

_'…What the heck?'_

"Natsuki?" Shizuru had set her tea cup down and was mirroring Natsuki's unintended stare. Suddenly, she stood up and leaned forward, placing the slightly open neck of her blouse right into the younger girl's line of sight, causing Natsuki to jerk to attention. "You should not stare at a woman's throat so attentively, Natsuki. She might get the wrong idea."

_[click]_

"Nn–idiot!" She shot up in her chair to glare directly into Shizuru's twinkling eyes, but stopped herself midway. The brunette blinked.

"What is wrong?"

"You don't remember last night?"

"Hmm. I think I remember you helped me to bed… I was a little dizzy."

"Yes, and you still look tired."

"I feel better. Your point is?"

Natsuki narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure you're feeling better? I had to half-carry you to your bed! Say, do you have a fever?" She reached up to Shizuru's face, who leaned back from the table on cue.

"I took some medication this morning," she began to stack the dishes, "and I'm handing over some important documents today at the meeting…"

"—So you can't miss it. Right," Natsuki didn't bother to hide her sarcasm.

"But that Natsuki is worried about my health truly fills my heart," came an immediate and light reply. Shizuru finished stacking the dishes and emitted a rather happy sigh while carrying them to the kitchen. "Ah, I am so fortunate."

_[click]_

The head of long, dark hair bowed in defeat. "Just one thing."

"Yes?" Shizuru called from the kitchen.

"Since I can't stop you from going to your meeting, we're coming home right after it, _on time_, and you're not going out tomorrow at least. Take some medicine."

"Yes, yes…" Shizuru merely raised her brows slightly and smiled inwardly, having summoned certain vivid memories of the previous night, though she would never confide this in Natsuki—unless she wanted to impart a permanent red glaze over her friend's face.

She remembered the pleasant sensation of falling into slumber on the plush sofa and then the rather irritating sensation of someone shaking her rather violently by the shoulders. She remembered the buzz of sleep and nausea clouding her senses as she struggled to wake and then the image of Natsuki's worried eyes floating above her face. She remembered her head pounding and the sore feeling that shuddered from her body in waves and then Natsuki pulling her from the couch to her bedroom. She remembered the scent of Natsuki's hair and the dully arousing sensation of being pressed to the girl's side, her arm slung over her shoulders. She remembered saying something to the shorter girl to soothe that pained expression, how her illness had nothing to do with Natsuki's cooking.

She remembered cool water, foreign hands helping her out of clothing and brushing across her skin, two pills, soft bed sheets, a hand on her face, and feeling the other girl's breath as she leaned close to her face… and then shooing Natsuki away to her own bedroom. A faint smile tugged at her face. _I am always the one taking care of her since I cannot…_

When Shizuru awoke this morning, she felt little better than the night before. Head pounding, she struggled to roll out of bed. _07:24… plenty of time._ Fighting off the dizziness that complicated her headache, she slowly made her way to the bathroom by leaning against the wall. Natsuki's door was closed. Carefully closing the bathroom door, Shizuru groaned and frowned. _Medicine… what medicine do I take?_

"Remember!" Natsuki yelled from her motorcycle.

"Yes, yes," came the standard smile and nod. "I shall be on time."

"And you," the helmet, its open visor revealing only two bright green irises, turned to a young man with neat, black hair and dressed in an equally neat black suit, "don't let things get out of hand."

_[click]_

"Well, it's just an informal meeting. I am sure it will be fairly uneventful." His mellow answer matched an equally mellow facial expression, and though he stood completely straight and still, his aura was quite relaxed.

Natsuki shot him a very narrow, slicing stare. "Kanzaki."

"Yes, yes, I mean to say, I'm sure it won't go too long, and if it does, Shizuru-san doesn't need to stay," he held up his hands to show surrender and smiled warmly. "Now, then, I shall escort my charge without further ado." He bowed magnificently.

Natsuki scoffed in derision and sped off to hit a grocery store before going to Mai's apartment. It was another cooking session. Shizuru smiled and waved happily at the rapidly retreating motorcycle.

_[click]_

Reito turned to Shizuru when Natsuki had disappeared around the bend. "But are you sure you're feeling up to this? You could always leave the papers with me." _Do you trust me?_

"The information on these papers are not annotated, and I would still need to explain them anyway. I prefer to give Kikukawa-san as much information as possible, including undocumented items. We cannot postpone the meeting as our schedule is booked for the next week before classes resume, and attempting to change times on our corporate partners is unwise. Also, I took some medication, so I feel fine for the time being." _It is not that at all._

His gray-brown eyes watched Shizuru from the side. "Kuga-san looked genuinely concerned, and you don't look entirely well. We should finish it as quickly as possible. All of your accounts should be brought forward first. I can postpone my own information… What medication did you take?" _You needn't put up such a show._

"It feels somewhat like the flu, though the timing is odd. The medication has helped a little, but I do intend on going home immediately after this." Musing thoughtfully, she smiled and slid her arm around his. "Reito-san has been working very hard of late. Perhaps he should look after himself as well."

_[click]_

To this, he was silent as they walked down the broad sidewalk. Shizuru allowed her eyes to wander over the blossoms waving at her from the ground.

"…Repairing what _he_ did will take far more work," he finally murmured at length, staring straight ahead.

"It was hardly your fault." She didn't look up from the passing blooms.

"But the responsibility of the damage still falls somewhere, must it not?"

"…Exactly so."

Reito blinked. He had simply walked into the blunder without realizing it. "I did _not_ mean," stressing his backpedal, "the damage you did while in your state. You know I meant the conductor, the puppet master—damage both physical and psychological."

"Oh, 'my state', was it?" she chuckled softly, recalling the number of buildings throughout the campus that she and Kiyohime battered, not even including the cost in human life and limb. The former student council vice-president did not miss the sad bite in her tone and pressed his hand over hers.

_[click]_

"Regardless, we must press forward. And we all have our senses returned, yes? Let's get some good work done here while we can and return to the path of life. This was the gamble the Crystal Princess made, and we are here now. We owe her and those who suffered that much."

"My, that sounded rehearsed, Reito-san."

"Ah, that's…"

Shizuru burst out laughing but faded it quickly, as moving too much made her body sore. She sighed.

"Are you feeling all right?" Reito slowed their stroll.

"Fine, thank y–"

"Fujino-san!" a bright voice shouted from behind them. The sound of loudly clopping shoes increased dangerously.

"Her timing is impeccable," Reito muttered good-naturedly.

"Ah. Watanabe-san, good morning," Shizuru nodded when a girl swept up to her elbow. The girl had shoulder-length, dark reddish-brown hair and light gray eyes that reflected the weather. By all appearances, she was fairly athletic, and her height probably gave her an advantage in such things.

"Good morning, Nari-san," Reito offered a sunny greeting that would normally floor his usual entourage of fans but was rewarded with only a cursory nod. He shrugged and reverted to their usual standoffish relationship. "Watanabe-san, I trust you brought all the recorded minutes we need?"

"Of course," the girl replied coolly from Shizuru's other side. There was no mistaking her exploitation of physical proximity with the famed former student president; the other Shizuru fans often hung off Nari when the object of their attentions was not present, hoping to glean more gossip from her status as student council affairs historian.

"Well, let us enter before Suzushiro-san increases her blood pressure." Shizuru smiled mildly to no one in particular, and the three marched through the main building's doors. "There is much to do."

_[click]_

========================================NOTES:

This is a teaser chapter; I am only posting two chapters to FFnet. I started writing "Syncope" in 2006 and am up to 11+2 chapters and over 57k words at the time of this posting. Originally, "Syncope" lived on Livejournal, and I only advertised on the ShoujoAi forum. Now, the rest of this story is being published on my website, kyanobenthes-dot-com (see profile). Table of contents (chapters and info): kyanobenthes-dot-com/2009/sticky-syncope/

I set up my fic website in a very specific way—separate post pages for the chapters and the author notes, with links connecting both. This is because I do substantial research whenever possible, so the notes can get quite long and rambly; keeping the notes and chapters separate allows readers to read straight through the chapters without any interruption. Also, I allow comments only on the author notes pages instead of chapters, which prevents inadvertent spoiling if you want to just read straight through.

Because FFnet doesn't allow my preferred setup, I am only posting the first two chapters and encourage anyone who is interested to visit my site and leave critiques under the author notes. I will still read comments here, but I prefer keeping these sorts of things centralized (you can see from my existing author note posts that there are already some substantial reviews). Thanks.


End file.
